Bottoms Up – Roots

Among the living…

I came across this tree during a hike at a local state park one evening and couldn’t help but capture a photo. I must admit that this dead tree wasn’t an eye sore for me. It was actually artistically beautiful. It’s not often that you get to see the entire root system of a tree. It was as if this was a work of art.

The Scene and Camera

The root system of the tree stretched really far; so a wide-angle lens was needed in order to capture the outstretched roots. I’m not sure what the flowers in front of the roots were but I made sure to include them in the composition. To me, it was a unique take on liveliness of the flowers and the lack there of in the root system. It also gave a sense of size and depth to the picture.

I used a narrow aperture to ensure that I gained the maximum depth of field. This made sure that the entire root system was in focus; as well as the foreground. I had an in inclination to make the photo a black and white image. It would have still been nice. However, I wanted to keep it in color because I was drawn to the contrast between the lively green foliage and the rotting of the roots. As I always say, its all about personal preference! Thanks to the beauty of technology, I could always change the image depending on my mood.

On a final note

This was my first time ever coming across a tree that had been tipped over for some time. I have seen hurricane damage before and over turned trees are a big part of cleanup. However, to come across a tree that had been in this state for quite some time was mesmerizing. It did scare me a bit when I first noticed it but that feeling vanished after s few seconds of admiring the beauty.

I’m glad I was able to capture this photo of the over turned tree. I haven’t been back there in a while and I often wonder if it is still there. I guess that is another perk of photographing what you see. You never know when you will be able to return to the same spot and obtain the same results.

Spark creativity by capturing the world around you one photo at a time

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2 Comments Posted

Where I live, wind storms are quite frequent. Old trees with rotten root systems are toppled over and their exposed roots create bizarre and artistic shapes. You would have a great time capturing more images. Thanks for the picture and the lesson, which I always read with great interest.